she says she read every single book she could get and went to every conference and every autism organization. she joined virtual support groups. she focused on finding what “the next best program for him” was all about to give him a fair chance at having the great experiences that other kids do.
like many people on the spectrum, andrew has difficulty recognizing his emotions and the emotions of others. one of his weekly programs is a peer social session to work on social interaction, and he also has private speech, occupational and behaviour therapy.
“i don’t think people really understand people with autism. they’re so misunderstood. they’re such warm and loving people. andrew is a very kind, loving individual. but because he struggles with emotions, you might not know that.”
that social piece, for one, is an ongoing challenge, she says. now that the boys are 10, adam gets the play dates, the sleepovers and the invitations to birthday parties, and andrew doesn’t. he’s in a regular grade 5 classroom with a shared educational assistant for help and gets excellent grades.
“he’s quirky and he’s different. and he knows he is, he knows he’s different,” raphael explains, adding that he’s also gifted in many ways. he likes comic books and replicates his own. he loves animals and sits and reads books to the family dog, bella. he and his brother are buddies and good playmates, except when adam has his friends over and doesn’t want andrew involved, like typical sibling preferences.
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